


A Furnace Unto Itself

by nuclearwinter



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Blanket Fic, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Netflix and Chill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 21:50:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17170052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nuclearwinter/pseuds/nuclearwinter
Summary: Dirk comes home from class to find that the heat is out at the apartment he shares with roommate-turned-something Dave. They get by.





	A Furnace Unto Itself

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AlexSbell](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexSbell/gifts).



> This is another present written for the Stridercest Secret Santa 2018 swap! The prompt was tooth rotting fluff and zero angst, I hope I delivered okay. Merry Christmas, and I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Once again, all my thanks to Dee and Katie for all the help with ideas, motivation and beta work <3

"The boiler's busted," is the first thing Dirk hears when he comes in the door. The words are muffled, coming from a pile of duvets and blankets on the couch.

"I was thinking it was chilly in here," Dirk says, putting his gloves back on after all. They're glaring orange and lumpy but they're of Lalondian make, which means they're beyond precious. Dirk dumps his book bag on the floor and approaches the makeshift cocoon. He can just see a little tuft of blond hair sticking out the top. "Have you called the landlord?"

"Yes I have, that's how come I know the boiler's busted," Dave mumbles into the blankets.

Dirk hums and walks into the kitchenette, already making lists of things to check. The lights are fine. The hot water, no. Same for the gas cooktop. Central heating is definitely off. He stops dead in his tracks, a terrible thought hitting him.

"I need to wash my hair tonight."

Dave's snort is audible through all his protective layers.

"Laugh it up," Dirk says, digging through the kitchen cabinets for heating pads. "I just remembered my gym has showers."

Dave flails out of the blanket pile, finally. "No, dude, you can't leave me here."

"Perhaps you should have taken my advice and signed up by now." No heating pads. Hm. 

"Ha ha." Dave sulks into the kitchenette after him, still wearing half the blankets. He thunks his forehead onto Dirk's shoulder from behind, and the casual touch sends a little thrill through Dirk. A doki, if you may. "Very fucking funny."

"Chillax. I've got an idea. The power still works, so we can just microwave some water."

Dave huffs, sending warm air down Dirk's back. He wants to grab the ends of the blanket and cocoon them together, but that might be too forward. They've been roommates for a while, and since recently they may sort of have a… thing… going on, so he's sure Dave wouldn't mind, but still. Sometimes he doesn't trust himself to read things right. He gets out his phone instead, for something to do with his hands. And, if he is brutally honest, an excuse to stay standing right there.

"I'm fairly certain water explodes in the microwave," Dave says, the low vibration of his voice causing goosebumps to rise on Dirk's arms.

"You can do it, just as long as you put something like a popsicle stick in the water. It will add pockets of air to serve as nucleation points—"

"Are you seriously reading Wikihow," Dave interrupts, peering over Dirk's shoulder. "Fuck, why aren't there any amazing illustrations on this article?"

"You could always add some yourself."

"Holy shit. We should make our own article. Wikihow to survive when you're a broke student and your boiler breaks."

"They already have an article on how to stay warm at home without a heater," Dirk says. Dave hasn't moved from his shoulder, and Dirk isn't about to make him. "And this one has some choice art in it."

"Jesus christ."

When they have finished rating each of the illustrations, Dirk forces himself to move away and start putting together what they need. 

"Our microwave isn't very big," he explains, "so we should do it in batches."

"You really wanna do that now?"

"Yes. I want to get clean, and then we can settle down somewhere and conserve body heat for a while."

It doesn't take too long to fill their biggest mixing bowl with microwaved water, and just as Dirk had predicted nothing goes wrong. No explosions, no fires. Dave trails after him to the bathroom, still bundled in the blankets, joking about washing Dirk's back.

As many of Dave's jokes do, it turns out to not have been a joke after all. They both strip hurriedly, feet nearly dancing on the icy tile, and sponge themselves down with washcloths and the bowl of precious hot water.

"This is pathetic," says Dave, but he is laughing through his chattering teeth, and it warms Dirk's heart (metaphorically. His skin is still covered in goosebumps.) "Okay, this is as clean as I'm gonna get before bits of me start falling off. Here, tip your head back."

He holds the bowl up to help rinse the shampoo from Dirk's hair, and again the easy intimacy has Dirk's pulse fluttering. It hits him that this is the first time they've been casually naked together. He had been too cold to really dwell on the thought before, but as Dave's fingers guide suds carefully away from his closed eyes, it unfolds inside his mind. It's allowed. Dave doesn't mind. In fact, unlike him Dave can go a night or two without a shower. He wants to be here right now.

"Thank you," he mumbles at the bathroom ceiling. He gets a towel to the face in return.

Once they're dry and clad in their thickest pajamas, he gets to work sealing up the cracks in his bedroom door and windows with rolled up towels, and then sits down on a beanbag by the wall to blow dry his hair while Dave lazes around on Dirk's bed.

Or so Dirk had thought. He switches the noisy dryer off and turns around to find sheets draped over the space between his desk and his bed, pinned in place by textbooks and held up at one corner by his computer chair. He can vaguely see the top of the sheets bumping up and down with movement.

"What are you doing?"

"Haven't you ever seen a pillow fort before?" Dave says from inside his construction.

"Sure I have, I just wasn't sure you had the correct zoning permits to build one here."

"It's okay," says Dave, poking his head out of a flap by the leg of the computer chair. "I know the land owner. I've got him good and seduced."

Dirk gets off the beanbag and shuffles across the floor towards him. "Do you just."

"Uh-huh," says Dave. "Password."

"I thought I was the land owner in this role play," says Dirk, pushing the flap open wider. It's dark in there, but he can make out the shapes of a huge nest of blankets. "I shouldn't need a password."

"Pretty sure I have rights as a tenant," says Dave, moving over immediately anyway. "Fuck, I am not built for this. You know what? 45 degrees is the only acceptable winter. That's the one good thing about home."

Dirk slides deeper into the cubby on his belly, and then sits up in the middle. It is noticeably warmer in here. "I absolutely agree. But hey, we are making it."

"Yeah," Dave grunts, crawling backwards on his elbows. "Thanks to your popsicle MacGyver knowledge and my rad pillow fort skills, we are killing it at surviving."

He starts tugging the blankets over them, shoving at Dirk gently until he gets the hint and lies down. "You're also good at nesting. Maybe you were a bird in a past life."

"This is not a nest," says Dave, still wriggling around fiddling with something. "Could some dumb bird do this?" It turns out he'd put it his own laptop on the seat of the computer chair, and soon Netflix is set up with only some minimal screen angle adjusting.

"That is pretty sick," says Dirk, moving his arm a little self consciously as Dave snuggles down next to him, rearranging the blankets high on top. It's toasty warm.

"And you wanted to go to the gym," Dave says, the smile in his voice.

Dirk takes a few seconds to gather himself, and then he slides his arm over Dave's stomach. It's a full on cuddle, and he is just starting to think maybe he should have eased into it a little more subtly, when Dave's hand comes up to hold his.

"You're so warm," Dave says, sounding sleepy.

"In the wise words of Wikihow, the living body of any warm-blooded animal is a furnace unto itself," Dirk says, feeling kind of floaty. They're holding  _ hands _ . Fuck. They're just a few casual shifts away from  _ spooning. _

Dave makes a little noise in agreement. It's so cosy warm and Dirk's heart is busy flopping happily and he misses most of the show but that's okay. They can watch it again another day. They've got all the time they need. 


End file.
